Strange Fate
by NowComesTheNight
Summary: "You're going to die tonight." Byakuya Kuchiki doesn't believe in precognition or the supernatural, so he brushes the words off with little thought. Imagine his surprise when they turn out to be true. AU and eventual ByaIchi.


Strange Fate

"You're going to die tonight." Byakuya Kuchiki doesn't believe in precognition or the supernatural, so he brushes the words off with little thought. Imagine his surprise when they turn out to be true. AU and eventual ByaIchi.

A/N: I got this idea while walking to class at the start of this semester. The original concept wasn't a fanfiction, but I decided to post it as one. Some of the plot kinks still need to be worked out, but I wanted to post the first chapter anyway. Let me know what you think and whether or not you want me to post more.

XoxoxoX

Byakuya Kuchiki felt the beat of the summer sun on his back like a furnace as he hitched his backpack a little higher on his shoulder. It was the first day of his last semester in college and instead of feeling elated he was nearly shaking with anger and frustration. The logistics behind why the university would increase the number of students attending but not increase the number of available parking spaces was beyond him. Now he had to walk an extra ten minutes to class because there were no shuttles to and from the lot he was forced to park in. Beads of sweat collected along his brow and rolled down his back, making his shirt stick uncomfortably against his skin.

Soft cursing could be heard not far from him and Byakuya lifted his eyes from the pavement in time to watch a young man with an odd shade of bright orange hair stuff a set of headphones into his backpack with an unnecessary amount of force. He tried to bolt down the perverse pleasure he felt at witnessing the other's agitation.

"At least I'm not the only one." He said to himself. The shoulders of the orange haired boy tensed as evidence that he'd heard the admission, but Byakuya didn't bother to apologize. He didn't know the boy so his reassurance wasn't needed, however pure boredom caused Byakuya to keep an eye on him.

They were currently the only two heading towards the campus, though there were many others walking in the opposite direction. It being early afternoon meant that some students had finished their classes for the day while he and the boy walking a few feet ahead of him were apparently part of the minority just beginning them. Byakuya noticed with mild disgust that the back of his white shirt was slowly becoming translucent. The tension in the boy's shoulders hadn't abated and he was sweating profusely. Clenching his teeth, Byakuya tried not to think of what his own shirt might look like.

His phone suddenly started ringing and Byakuya felt his jaw go slack and his breath release, more than grateful for the interruption.

"Kuchiki." He answered without even glancing at the caller ID.

"Nii-Sama." His little sister, Rukia, greeted politely. "Just wanted to make sure you'd made it to school in one piece."

"Hmmm." Byakuya hummed, certain that she had a different motivation. "Well, you can tell I'm fine." After a slight pause, he asked, "Is there something else?"

"I heard you were out with Renji yesterday." Ah, and there was her real reason for calling.

"Indeed, I was." He answered, ignoring the prodding tone in her voice. Byakuya was very aware of his sister's interest in his tattooed friend, but he didn't approve. The two of them were as different as night and day. Renji was loud, obnoxious, and a little too wild and uncontrolled for his tastes where as he was reserved, refined, and disciplined. The only reason they were even friends was their mutual affinity for fast cars. That was certainly not the kind of man his sister should become involved with. "We were racing."

"Oh?" Rukia's voice took on an air of intense interest that made Byakuya frown. He knew that that wasn't entirely to do with Renji. If he didn't want Rukia to date his friend, then her getting involved with drag racing was definitely something he disapproved of. "Who won?"

He looked back up as he rounded the corner onto the street that ran straight through the university's campus and noticed that he was a little bit closer to the orange haired boy from earlier. For some reason Byakuya seemed to be unable to just ignore his presence like he normally would. Perhaps it was the way the muscles in his shoulders seemed to wind tightly. Maybe it was the fact that his head was tilted ever so slightly, as if he was trying too hard not to listen.

"I did." He answered simply. She made a soft sound of encouragement so he elaborated. "He had the faster car, the one he just rebuilt, but I was faster out the gates. Sometimes a better start is all you need." That was especially true for the short distance races he and Renji liked to challenge each other in.

"Is he picking you up later?"

"Yes, after I get out of classes. He has his eye on an old Ford pickup that he wants to turn into a hot rod."

"I thought he was looking at a 30s Coup."

"Like he could have afforded that." Byakuya scoffed. Although, he would have purchased it himself and let Renji restore it for him. He was quite the talented mechanic, after all. If only it hadn't been bought so quickly.

"Can I come?" Rukia asked trepidatiously.

"No." He answered flatly, knowing that she was too well mannered to argue with him if he sounded resolute.

Byakuya heard her sigh dejectedly over the line. Rukia was a brilliant mechanic in her own right. He never allowed her to pick up a tool herself in hopes that it would deter her deep interest in racing. However, when she did sit with him as he tinkered with his own machine she followed along quite well. Sometimes she would close her eyes and Byakuya knew that she was seeing a detailed image of the engine and whatever procedure he was doing, whether it was as simple as changing a spark plug or if he was adding more torque. It was actually rather impressive and he often felt guilty for denying her talent. Though he would do whatever was necessary to protect her, this particular situation ate at him. Certainly there was no harm in Rukia accompanying them to a junk yard?

"Fine, you may come." He relented. As his sister thanked him with obvious bewilderment he noticed the young man ahead of him stumble a little. Though he caught himself gracefully, he stopped walking and half turned towards Byakuya.

"Rukia, I am almost at school. I'll call you later." He ended the conversation quickly and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

Byakuya walked around the boy as he tracked his movements with an odd look in his warm, brown eyes. It was something of a mix between curiosity and disbelief with a dash of indecision thrown in.

"You're gonna die tonight."

The words were spoken softly and cautiously, as though he hadn't wanted to say them aloud. Byakuya stopped short and turned back towards the young man as his blood ran cold with utter horror that someone would actually say such a thing to him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end goosebumps rose along his arms as Byakuya realized from the grave look and deep scowl on his face that he was not joking.

"Was that a threat?" He growled out between clenched teeth.

"What? No!" The boy said, seemingly shocked that someone would take his words that way. "It was a warning, idiot."

"Then you are either lying or crazy." Byakuya stated dismissively. Without another thought, he turned around and walked away.

"Don't let Renji race the green car!" He called after him.

Byakuya paused a moment before picking up his pace without even a glance back. By the time he got to his class he was thoroughly unsettled. Why on earth would someone say something so outlandish? It was obviously not true. Not only was there no such thing as psychics, but they weren't even racing that night. There was no possible way Renji would end up in a one on one. He concluded that that orange haired kid must have been crazy.

It didn't occur to Byakuya until after the professor began his lecture that he'd never actually said Renji's name aloud.

XoxoxoX

"Oi, Kuchiki!"

Byakuya shook himself out of his thoughts as he looked at the red haired, tattooed menace he called a friend. It was evening, the sun had gone down already, and they'd already made the trip to the junk yard. He was sitting in the passenger seat of one of Renji's less ostentatious cars with his sister in the back. Currently, both he and Rukia where staring at him strangely.

"Yes?" He asked calmly.

"What is up with you today?" Renji asked back. His friend looked a little concerned. "I mean you don' really talk much, but you usually give your opinion."

"I did say I thought it was worthless."

"But you didn't even mention that some of the parts were salvageable." This time Rukia was the one who spoke.

"For the price they weren't worth-"

"Don' give me that bullshit, Kuchiki. I've never met a person more ruthless in haggling than you." Renji interrupted. "And you never let an opportunity to show off your 'superior knowledge' pass you by. So I'm gonna ask you again: what's up with you?"

_You're gonna die tonight._

Those words were still echoing ominously in Byakuya's head. The boy and his serious, sincere eyes kept flashing in his head. He knew they shouldn't bother him so much, but there was a strange nagging feeling that he shouldn't be so dismissive. He could hardly concentrate all day, and it was apparently obvious to everyone. Byakuya would be loathed to admit this though. There was no way he could tell anyone that something so ridiculous rattled him.

"I have a lot on my mind." Was all he said.

"Seems so." Rukia answered with a hint of skepticism in her voice. If there was anyone who could see through his lies, it was his little sister. Byakuya turned in his seat to look back at Rukia. It was clear from her expression that he was going to have to explain himself later and he was not looking forward to that.

The car coasted to a stop at a red light as another car pulled up next to them. Byakuya looked out his window, and felt his stomach drop and his blood run cold as he noticed its color.

_Don't let Renji race the green car!_

It was absurd! He couldn't possibly be entertaining the thought that the orange haired kid had been right just because the car next to him happened to be green. However, that thought fled his mind as a man with long dark hair and cruel, green eyes glanced at Renji and revved his engine. He felt his body begin to go numb as his friend let a broad smile fall across his face and return the gesture.

"Abarai, you will not race with my sister in the car." Byakuya said evenly, careful not to let his building panic show.

"Hey!"

"Come on!" Renji and Rukia cried in unison.

"Its obvious your sister wants a go." Renji said, but the small look he threw over his shoulder told Byakuya that what he really wanted was to impress Rukia. "What's the harm."

_You're gonna die tonight._

Byakuya chewed his lip, but said nothing. Nothing but a good explanation was going to stop Renji anyway and in truth he hardly believed that the boy was right. He was merely unsettled by a coincidence and that certainly was not a good reason.

The light turned green and the car lurched as Renji hit the gas. Byakuya felt himself grip the door handle as they pulled ahead of the green car. Before he even had a chance to feel relieved, their opponent suddenly swerved into them, the bumper knocked just in front of the rear tire well. Renji cursed, his sister screamed, and his stomach turned as the world began spinning around him. Luckily, the car didn't flip and Renji had it back under his control quickly. Everything came to a sudden to a stop and Byakuya released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He threw a quick look at Rukia in the back seat, feeling his heart flutter in relief as she seemed fine if shaken.

"Abarai! Did I not say-"

His voice caught in his throat as the aggressive look on Renji's face melted away to wide-eyed shock and horror.

"Kuchiki!"

He whipped around just in time to see large, bright headlights closing in fast.

And then nothing.

XoxoxoX

A/N: I'm not a mechanic, but I did grow up around cars so I do know some things about them. As such, this story is not going to be about cars, but will include them at points

Let me know if you liked this or if you want to see another chapter!


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